Replicating an inescapable international hit such as Hey There Delilah isn't possible, so Plain White T's hardly even try on Big Bad World. Instead, Tom Higgenson and Co. use the benefits such a hit provides to play to their strengths as a hopelessly romantic power-pop band.

Showtime's cynical comedy Californication ended its first season on an unusual bright note, as David Duchovny's Hank Moody got his wish, stealing his ex from her wedding reception and riding off Graduate-style with their daughter Becca. The show's 12-episode second season, due in September, "investigates how much bull there is in happy endings," says creator Tom Kapinos.

Ashley Brasovan of Wellington (West Palm Beach, Fla.), was the top girls runner at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals at Balboa Park in San Diego last week. To win, the runner stayed back early, then made a move at the two-mile mark.

Maroon 5 and Fergie hold the top spots on iTunes' year-end sales roundup. The online music store released its top-selling albums and singles Tuesday, though they declined to release actual sales figures.

Deluxe editions of CDs are nearly indistinguishablefrom the plain-Jane versions. They usually bear identical or similar covers, prices may not be radically different, and titles may be available in several configurations to give discount retailers exclusive content. "It makes the consumer nuts," says Billboard's Geoff Mayfield. "You no longer know which is the definitive version."

There's something in the gentle strains of Hey There Delilah that's so earnest, so honest, listeners wonder: Is this Plain White T's song about a real girl? Delilah DiCrescenzo, a 24-year-old Olympic hopeful, is fact. But the song's relationship between a New York college student and a guitar player a thousand miles away, well, that part is completely made up.